Music Glossary: notation

Concise notes for feel, groove, pedal cues, pedal changes, patch names, or capo positions as needed. more

Broad umbrella for Western art music from Medieval to contemporary concert traditions. more

Staff reference symbols setting where specific pitches fall; chosen for range/legibility. more

Actual sounding pitch; used as reference for non-transposing instruments and analysis. more

Small-note passages copied into parts to aid counting during rests and improve entrances. more

Standard kit mapping (x-heads for cymbals); stems/voices for limbs. more

Volume indications from ppp to fff and hairpins; relative in context and room. more

Place dynamics under the staff (vocal above lyrics), align hairpins with events, and avoid collisions. more

Global defaults for spacing, fonts, slur shapes, and collision avoidance to speed consistent output. more

Equivalently sounding notes with different spellings (e.g., G♯ = A♭) depending on harmonic context. more

Consistent rules for fonts, note spacing, slurs, articulations, and rehearsal marks across all parts. more

Set of sharps/flats at the staff start indicating the diatonic collection of a movement. more

Use standard drum key and simple rhythmic cues for hits; avoid cluttering charts with full drum parts unless required. more

Plan rests or tacets at page turns; avoid splitting phrases or complex rhythms across pages. more

Engraving logic that distributes horizontal space by duration and complexity to maintain readability. more

Instruments that sound an octave above/below written (e.g., piccolo, double bass). more

Percussion shorthand (o for open, + for closed) indicating pedal state in drum-set parts. more

Trills, mordents, turns with clear symbols and accidentals; provide editorial notes for style-specific execution. more

Notation indicating chord over a specific bass note (e.g., C/G); can imply inversions or pedals. more

Rhythm slashes with cue notes or rhythmic notation above staves to indicate ensemble hits. more

Slurs indicate legato within a phrase; longer phrase marks can span multiple slurs to show musical grouping. more

Fraction-like symbol denoting beats per bar and beat value (e.g., 4/4, 6/8). more

Notational convention where an instrument reads in a different key than concert pitch (e.g., B♭ clarinet). more

Number and bracket tuplets where needed; do not break tuplets across beams without clear context. more